How Skilled Volunteering Impacts Small Charities

Small Charity Week is an especially apt time to raise awareness of and celebrate volunteering.

It is estimated that 21 million people in the UK volunteer at least once a year, people of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicity (NCVO 2015 Almanac). They contribute a huge amount of expertise, capacity and time to charities and particularly small charities. With approximately 159,000charities in the UK turning over less than £1.5 million (Source: FSI), many of these volunteers are contributing their skills to help run and increase capacity for, the UK’s smaller charities; charities which help various causes throughout our society. This may include anything from running the organisation to shaping the charity as a trustee to running Saturday sports clubs to working with service users.

As the home of skilled volunteering, we at Reach Volunteering are highly aware of how valuable the skills of volunteers are to small organisations, in terms of their contribution and impact. Volunteers come to us wanting to find a position at a charity where their skills can make a difference, and charities look to us to find them an individual with the skills to impact their organisation. Last year we placed 710 skilled volunteers into charities of all sizes, but many of them were smaller organisations (this include trustees, a position often forgotten when we speak about volunteers.) We often hear stories about how volunteers have kept a small charity going by donating their expertise, time and passion.

Here’s what a few of our volunteers have said about why they got involved:

“It’s such a good feeling when you help someone out with immediate results. It’s quite a change from being in charge of an offshore oil platform” said Gerry who volunteered his skills to build equipment for a gentleman living with a terminal illness with REMAP Tyne.

“I learned a lot during my five years with the board. It was most gratifying to know that my career skills can still be of value to others” said Thea who sat on the board at children’s charity, FOCUS.

“Young people come in who have had difficulties in life, are set on a path or maybe not – and don’t necessarily know how to move forward. When you see how they progress, you know you’ve made a difference” said Loretta who mentored for a youth organisation.

And what have some of the small charities said about the volunteers they’ve gained? Here’s one example:

“We are very grateful for your help rejuvenating our board. Like many –perhaps most –voluntary organisations, the year ahead is going to be very difficult for us, but with the help of your volunteers, we are in a better position to face it”. Peter is the chair of a local care service.

There really is a wealth of talent out there and many small charities have capitalised on using these talents, creating clear roles for skilled people donating their expertise. If you are a small charity and have wondered about getting more volunteers involved, visit the Small Charity Week website or contact us at Reach. We have hundreds of skilled volunteers on our database and we have a team of people who can advise you about how to create and define a role where you can make the most of a skilled person’s talents.

We will shortly be launching a new website where you will be able to search for and directly contact those volunteers yourself, finding out about their skills, experience, location and motivations. We know it will be a fantastic resource for both small charities and beyond. We are hugely looking forward to the launch and helping to build the capacity of the voluntary sector through matching charities and skilled people. 

Sarah Tucker, Communications and Marketing Manager, Reach